Having a personal interest in historical, preferably war-related movies, I was drawn to Hacksaw Ridge by its aggressive-sounding name that made me think of danger and worst possible scenarios—which sounded intriguing.

Hacksaw Ridge: this movie, reenacts Desmond T. Doss’s remarkable journey during WWII as a conscientious objector who saved lives without firing a single shot from a weapon. It begins with a grieving army veteran, raising his sons with nonviolent views. Even though he faces a lot of criticism for his beliefs, Doss remains true to his values and beliefs, even when he enlisted in the army. The film shows his bravery and sacrifice during the battle of Okinawa, showing themes of courage, fellowship, and faith. 

Andrew Garfield plays Desmond and gives the viewers an amazing performance, adding emotion and realism to the role—we feel the importance, but struggle, of his decision to fight without a weapon. Vince Vaughn (Sergeant Howell) plays a major role as an antagonist against Desmond and him joining the army. He did an amazing job playing a strict and realistic sergeant. Luke Bracey (Smitty Ryker) did a great job giving Desmond a hard time for him going a different route in joining the army, but also did a great job at showing heart and empathy for Desmond when he got to know him and saw his true purpose during the war.  

Mel Gibson’s direction of Hacksaw Ridge captures the audience's full attention by portraying the real-life story as accurately as possible while also envisioning the realistically. The setting of the Pacific theater looks realistic: the beach, the ridge, the island. We feel there with the soldiers, climbing as bombs go off around them and Japanese soldiers bombard them at every turn. Some of the emotions that were presented in the movie were very intense compared to some other war based movies. When Desmond had dreams about killing his father they seemed true and deep. This movie in my opinion was a very well developed and true to story movie. They used their resources of creating cinematography very well.